#27

Or how I gained 10 pounds in one weekend and am now undoubtedly a candidate for blood pressure meds.

This past weekend, Atlanta was invaded by northerners (again). A fair chunk of my family came to town to attend graduation at the Creative Circus. I was initially a little worried about having to host my family in a town that I have yet to explore (school keeps me phenomenally busy). However, there were only two really hiccups the whole weekend (once when I tried to take my mom to one of the most popular restaurants in town and once when we got stuck in heinous traffic).

In addition to getting to hang out with two of my brothers, my sister-in-law Krista and my mom, I was also able to cross #27 off my list with a bang (and a few stomachaches).

First stop was Fox Bros BBQ on Dekalb. It was far and away the best BBQ I have ever had. My family and I attacked the menu with reckless abandon... and we paid for it later. All in all, a solid start to the weekend.

Next was a breakfast at The Silver Skillet. I've driven by the Silver Skillet more than a few times (MAC paper, one of my paper suppliers is next door); however, I had never been inside this Atlanta institution. We all had amazing breakfasts complete with an awesome waitress who gave my brother Grant the nickname Junior.

Here is the aftermath.

My brother Austin really loves his breakfast lemon pie.

Our third stop was another BBQ dinner, this time at DBA Barbecue. It's a slightly more upscale barbecue joint located in the Highlands. However, that doesn't mean it's any less delicious.

Our last restaurant on the tour was one last lunch at the Vortex (we had thought about The Varsity, but decided against it because of their lack of vegetarian options for Krista). Even though I lived down the street from this restaurant, I had never once been. However, I had heard amazing things about their hamburgers. I will say that the guacamole burger did not disappoint. I did need to order a side salad thought.



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Let's take a look at that list, shall we?

As of today, there are 389 days left in this hair-brained experiment. So far, I've accomplished 34 out of 101 items. I won't lie, I'm pretty proud of this. Never in my life did I think that I would get so much of this list done. However, I still have a fair ways to go.

If you happen to know me and would like to help me get more stuff done, just let me know. I am always looking for a partner-in-crime. Figuratively speaking, of course.


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1. Climb Mt. Monadnock
2. Go to Bonnaroo
3. Go on a date
4. Grow out my hair 
5. Finally read all of the books in my bookshelf
6. Hike the Georgia portion of the Appalachian Trail
7. Go camping twice (0/2)
8. Go skiing at least once per winter (1/3)
9. Take a trip by myself
10. Take a roadtrip with friends
11. Read all of the Jane Austen novels (2/6)
12. Wear my hair down at least twice per week
13. Write 5 letters, just because (3/5)
14. Learn calligraphy
15. Take a picture a day for a month (28/28)
16. Get my Leica fixed... and learn how to use it
17. Go to Savannah, Georgia
18. Go without TV for a week
19. Consciously learn one new thing a day for a week (0/7)
20. Make a surprise visit home (Amy's bridal shower)
21. Visit Danielle in Seattle
22. Take a hot air balloon ride
23. Go bungee jumping or skydiving
24. Visit 4 states I have never been to (0/4)
25. Lose the 20lbs I have gained since college (so close!)
26. Call a college friend at least once per week
27. Visit four new restaurants in a month (0/4)
28. See four movies by myself in a month (0/4)
29. Get my golf game in order (my local driving range is helping with this one)
30. Turn off the email in my phone for a week
31. Learn how to grill well
32. Learn how to bake pies
33. Cook every recipe in a cookbook
34. Do yoga every week for two months (0/8)
35. Visit Machu Picchu
36. Build a house with Habitat for Humanity
37. Visit New Orleans, Louisiana
38. Find a red wine that I like
39. Save $500.00
40. Take a spinning class
41. Run a half-marathon
42. Climb a rock wall
43. Floss three times a week for a month
44. Get a makeup lesson
45. Organize all slides and photos
46. Read two books on American History (0/2)
47. Read two books on European History (0/2)
48. Read two biographies (2/2)
49. Go to three minor league baseball games (0/3)
50. Go to an Atlanta Braves game
51. Go to the Atlanta Aquarium
52. Go to Zoo Atlanta
53. Go to the Fernbank Museum
54. Visit a distillery (Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, etc...)
55. See a drive-in movie
56. Donate blood twice (0/2)
57. Send a postcard to Postsecret
58. Do a Crossfit session
59. Learn to bake bread from scratch
60. Shoot a bow and arrow
61. Go to the gun range
62. Finally try lobster
63. Graduate from the Creative Circus
64. Do at least two blog postings a week
65. Tell Ryan Dodge that I like his blog and think he's really cool
66. Spend a day at the beach
67. Finish my daisy needlepoint
68. Set up reminders in my Google calendar for my friends birthdays
69. Go visit cousin Michele in Maryland
70. Get a job
71. Get a dog
72. Go to Waffle House
73. Move to a new city
74. Break one of my rules
75. Be able to run 5 miles
76. Take a spontaneous trip
77. Go to Europe
78. Buy a little black dress
79. Kiss someone in the rain
80. Sit outside during a thunder/lightning storm
81. Send flowers to myself
82. Send flowers to a friend anonymously
83. Actually remember my little brother Jake's birthday
84. Go one week without buying anything unnecessary
85. Snorkel
86. Send a thank you note for ALL gifts received
87. Go to Charleston, SC
88. Go out one night and NOT be Designated Driver
89. Keep a sketchbook for my time in Atlanta
90. Wear my bathing suit in actual public (Thank you Greece)
91. Learn to sail
92. Go swimming in the ocean
93. Take a flying lesson
94. Flirt shamelessly with a boy
95. Buy a guy a drink at a bar
96. Learn to do a headstand in yoga
97. Let Ashley Reid make me a one day playlist
98. Go to Wimbledon
99. Not complain about anything for a whole week.
100. Call in to a radio station
101. Take a ballroom dancing lesson.

#41

Disclaimer: This is me changing the rules. Why? Because I can. #41 originally was: "do a pull-up". I've never been able to do a pull-up. I never will be able to do a pull-up. So, I'm changing #41 to "run a half marathon". Conveniently, this is something I've already done. 


So, around Thanksgiving of last year, I was trying to catch a Metro-North train from the 125th street station so that I could go home and eat turkey. The M60 bus from LaGuardia had been delayed in traffic, leaving me with mere seconds to spare before my train left. Because I'm me (and I pack light - for easy running), I decided to chance it. I bounded off of the bus two stops early and sprinted across 2 city blocks and up 2 flights of stairs.

My lungs almost exploded.

It was there that I decided that I needed to run more. Somehow that turned into me running a half marathon 11 months later. October 4th was the big day. It is a road race named for Grete Waitz (a Norwegian who won the NYC marathon 9 times!).

Unfortunately, my sister-in-law Krista was unable to run because of a foot injury. Thankfully, she served as official race photographer (a job I have held for the past 2 years).

       

My brother, Austin, and I get ready for the race. (Our pre-race was un-officially sponsored by Halls, as you can see)

About 10 minutes before the race started, I moved into my starting corral. I start wondering whether or not this was a good idea (I'm leaning towards not). With a singing of two national anthems, we were off.

My first lap around the park goes well. Krista tells me that I went faster than anticipated (we were measuring my times against glacial movements).

Austin finished 00:00:15 behind his personal best time (which is pretty damn good). Ironically, he slowed down in the last bit because he thought he had his personal best in the bag. I would tell a little story about "assuming" things, but he can kick my butt.

 

Post race pose, or why I need to stop giving the "metal sign" in photos. I was feeling fine here. Little did I know that things were about to go south. Fast. 

 Here is my post-race breakfast. Long story short, it did not stay my post-race breakfast for long. After the entertaining ride home, Krista gave me some sport beans and put me to bed for a little nap. Two hours later, I awoke (still in my running clothes) completely refreshed. Since all I'd eaten all day was sport beans and Gatorade, we had an awesome Greek dinner.

All in all, a solid day. However, I do not think I will be running that far anytime soon... unless I'm being chased.

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#61 - with an actual bullet

Like many items on this list of ridiculousness, #61 was a vague attempt to recapture some of the fun of my youth. The first time I set foot on a gun range was when I was 12 at Forest Lake Camp in the Adirondacks. It wasn't anything fancy, just a bolt-action .22 rifle and a small paper target, but I loved it (and I have the pro marksman pin to prove it).

So, a few weeks ago, one of my teachers assigned me a brand identity project for a gun store. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do some research and knock something else off my list. My only problems? I hadn't shot a gun in 14 years. And all of the gun stores in Atlanta are capital i Intense. Thankfully, my friend Mike had a range that he knew and he was willing to teach me how to shoot (again).




This is the range. My gun (a "child sized" 9mm) is on the right. Mike's gun (the "adult-sized 1911) is on the left.




He's a significantly better shot than I am.




We soon switched from regular targets to ZOMBIE TARGETS!! This is zombie target #1... Before he was riddled with bullet holes.




My zombie target, which proudly hangs on the back of my front door. It's hard to tell, but almost his whole face is gone.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome afternoon (aside from being made fun of because I couldn't load a clip to save my life). I now have a healthy respect for handguns and a new stress reliever should I ever live in a "gun friendly" state ever again.



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#3

All I will say about #3 is that I accomplished it. I won't go into details because of the spectacular level of fail involved. However, I will tell you that I shudder everytime I set foot inside a Mellow Mushroom (a pizza joint around town).


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Day 31

I am well aware that my 28 day photo project is over (take that #15!); however, I've kind of enjoyed doing this (and my one reader requested that I keep on going). So, let me introduce you to day 31.



Meet Busko.

He's the dog of a family I babysit for. He's a rambunctios weimeraner who delights in nibbling on my arm and stealing my shoes. However, he has some of the best dog ears I have ever seen.


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Day 30

I think that this photo was taken somewhere in North Carolina (maybe near Greensboro). From 830am until 1030pm today, this was my unchanging view. For some reason I decided to drive straight from New York to Atlanta with 3 gas breaks and 1 Wawa sandwich stop. Hopefully, I never have to do it again.


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